Thursday Driver’s License Drama

A few Thursdays ago, I was hanging out on the patio with Dave, talking to some friends. We watched a group of young-ish looking people walk into the bar, and I remember thinking "I really hope the bartender cards all of them." Some of them were raving to the others about how great the Sandbar is, which made us smile.

(Of course, the older I get, the younger everyone else looks- in my head I like to think I'm still 21, so anyone who looks younger than me certainly can't be old enough to come in.)

About five minutes later, the same group walks back out. This time they were raving about something else.

Apparently, the bartender followed all rules (yay!) and carded the entire group. One of the guys threw a fit and couldn't believe they were being carded- and even worse, the bartender wanted to scan his ID! Oh, the humanity!

The bartender explained that everyone gets carded, and since school had just started it was even more important to card everyone, and that every bar in town would be paying closer attention to ID's right now.

This group didn't want to hear it, and they chose to leave instead of hand over their ID's for a 30 second inspection. On their way out, several of them were loudly complaining about the "rude" bartender and how "they come here all the time."

Ah yes, the Sandbar and fake IDs. It was always the toughest place when it came to checking IDs that it was well known not to attempt to get in if you don’t have a legit ID. I was talking to a mid-20s KU alum yesterday at the football game who had never been to the Sandbar. To me, that’s like saying “I’ve never had a PB&J sandwich”, it just doesn’t compute. So I asked her why, and she said it was because her ID was rejected once (when she was underage) and she held a grudge so strong that she never wanted to go back. Needless to say, I told her to give it up after 5 years, go dance on the bar, and have fun.
It’s amazing to me that some people get so offended by ID requests/confiscations. But then again, it’s not too uncommon for some college-aged kids to think they are the center of the universe and “how dare they not want me around, do they not know how awesome I am?!?”. It’s so selfish, especially in light of the legal ramifications for the establishment -when- (not if) they get busted.
Anyways, hope that group had fun at Charlie’s Eastside that night.

Thanks for the comments! We do love that reputation as the hardest place to get into with a fake ID. And, at least we don’t take away their fake ID, unlike some other places- we just don’t let them in and send them on their way.
Derek, that’s a great story. It’s funny that she held a grudge against us for her own illegal behavior. Time to get over it!